ELDERLY INSTRUMENTS

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Elderly Instruments is a family owned and operated music store. With our staff of experienced musicians we can help you out in many ways that others cannot. Our in-depth knowledge of musical instruments (vintage and new) informs us so we can provide the best to you. No other distractions for us – music and instruments are what we do.

It started back in 1971, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sharon McInturff and I had both finished college, and we figured that if we searched for older fretted instruments then we could probably sell them, make a little profit, and have fun doing it. Within a year we had moved into a small (8'x10') space in the basement of a retail building in East Lansing. The shop opened on July 5, 1972 with about 15 or 20 used instruments. We called ourselves Elderly Instruments because we planned to carry only vintage instruments.

We wanted a store where people could feel comfortable, be allowed to play the instruments (a rarity in those days) and have great prices and great customer service. Before we knew it we were carrying strings, some accessories and (much to our surprise) new instruments, too. Fast forward to 1975, and we had a 100+ page mail order catalog, plus a much expanded space in the building where we started. Who knew?

By 1983 we had outgrown the original building, so we bought and renovated an old lodge hall in nearby Lansing. My partnership with Sharon ended in 1986. By the 1990's our experience in mail order paid off when we created our first web site, and very recently, we’ve launched a newly designed site that you should check out!

The important things, haven't changed. We're still a family business, with my wife Sandy joining the Elderly staff in 1990 and our daughter Lillian in 2014. The rest of the Elderly family includes over 70 stellar employees, many of whom have been here for well over 20 years. We want you to feel like you are walking into our living room.

We have great new and vintage instruments, accessories, instructional materials, and even a few wacky things, all at great prices. We offer free advice, or we can write an appraisal that your insurance company will gladly accept. Our world renowned eleven man Repair Shop offers top notch restoration services plus expert setup to keep your instruments playing and sounding their best. The shop is also widely known for its professional restorations on any age acoustic or electric guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele and more.

We want to be the music store that does it all for you, and our thousands of customers will tell you that we succeed. Plus, we're still learning, and it's still fun!

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Peghead Nation’s String School is your source for roots music instruction, bringing you full courses in guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, fiddle, and Dobro, featuring talented instructors, high-quality video instruction, accurate notation and tab, and fun songs to play right from the beginning. Enroll and become a Peghead today!